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You may be wondering why we haven’t written much in the past few months, as of the end of 2015 and progressing into 2016 we decided to write our reports on a seasonal basis opposed to our monthly reports. As we have now entered spring it is time to report back on the exciting action that has happened within the property market on a local and national basis together with giving you an insight into the month by month operation of our company that has entered its 29th year of trading in Basingstoke.

Our affluent 2015 began to come to an end in November and December as the property market began to cool down for the festive period as it traditionally does and our attentions turned to getting people in to their new homes before Christmas and as ever our sales progressor Trevor was having fun with less than efficient online conveyancers and online estate agents. Never the less we had many thankful clients that were in for their Christmas dinner and whilst Trevor was undertaking the work of other people he got the job done and come the close of business we enjoyed our Christmas party in sunny Cardiff even more. Whilst we achieved less sales in November 2015 to 2014 (-26%) we did exceed our previous record in December 2014 and sold (33%) more in December 2015.

The successful December has encouraged an ever familiar problem for buyers in January; a lack of available property which in turn has caused prices to rise once again. The government also instigated a change in stamp duty which now means buy to let landlords or second home owners will have to pay larger sums of tax after the 1st of April 2016 – in layman’s terms this means an investor buyer purchasing a home at £250,000 will now have to pay £10,000 instead of the current rate of £2,500 in stamp duty. This has inevitably inflated the market considerably with investors chomping at the bit to secure a property before this deadline. This has created an unfortunate situation for first time buyers who are now paying even more of a premium to secure a home. All of the above has made for a very buoyant sellers’ market in the January and February market place. In January our sales figures were down 35% from 2015 due to the lack of property available to market, thus increasing prices due to high demand however we have seen 10% increase in sold property in February 2016 to 2015 which is encouraging for buyers and sellers who are needing to secure a property to move in to. I think we are in for an exciting spring period with prices still on the rise, level of demand still at record levels, interest rates still low and we have seen steady increases in property coming available to the market.

We are sad to say that Matthew Thompson will be leaving at the end of March, having been with Barons for over 4 years he has now decided to undertake a new challenge and we wish him the best of luck with his endeavours and his new family. This does mean that we are now looking to employ some new and exciting talent; we are looking to employ two new trainees. If you or an acquaintance is looking for a new challenge with a respected leading independent estate agent then please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Penfold to discuss these opportunities further.

We are pleased to announce that Matt Rawlings passed his Level 3 technical award in the sale of residential property, awarded by the National Federation of Property Professionals and is now in the process of applying to become a member of the National Association of Estate Agents, further assuring you of are professionalism and high standards. Phil Sutton has begun his studies and passed two of his modules with a further two left, by the summer he hopes to be in similar position as Matt.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this report and have gleaned an insight in to the residential property market in Basingstoke. If you do have any questions relating to this or something of topic then please do not hesitate to contact us 01256 840111 or sales@baronsestateagents.co.uk.